


Miscommunications

by larislynn



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy Ending, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, Love Confessions, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Pining, Reader-Insert, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:02:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28278084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larislynn/pseuds/larislynn
Summary: Zuko's about to confess something important, when he hears you talking to Katara about being in love with someone- someone he believes to not be him. Little does he know, it was him you were talking about the whole time.Requested: YesPrompt: "Just tell him you love him, it's not that hard."
Relationships: The Gaang (Avatar) & Reader, Zuko (Avatar)/Reader
Kudos: 43





	Miscommunications

“Why are feelings so hard?” Zuko muttered to himself, tossing a stone into the nearby pond and watching it sink. “What would Uncle say?” He thought for a moment before trying, and failing, to do an impersonation of his Uncle. “Zuko, feelings are like rocks. If you throw them away they’ll sink for eternity.” 

He shook his head and stared at the water ahead of him. “That doesn’t make any sense.” Zuko stood, taking a deep breath. “That’s it. I have to say how I feel, even just to get it off my chest. Then I won’t worry about it anymore.” 

That wasn’t entirely true. He knew he had to confess his feelings to you, and the sooner the better. The chances of you figuring it out on your own were too high, and then he’d never have a chance to fully explain it in his own words. 

Zuko made his way towards your tent, but stopped when he heard voices. He didn’t want to tell you in front of the others. If you rejected him they didn’t need to know, it would just make things more awkward. He paused, waiting to see if whoever you were talking to would leave. When no one left the tent after a minute he turned to leave. Clearly the Spirits didn’t want him to say anything right now.

However, the words he heard next made both him and his heart stop. “Just tell him you love him, it’s not that hard.” Katara said. “I have a feeling he loves you too.” 

“I don’t know,” he heard you say. “What if you’re wrong? It could ruin the friendship we already have. Is it worth risking that?” 

“Trust me,” Katara reassured you, “I’ve seen the way he looks at you.” 

Who were they talking about? Zuko walked away, releasing a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Well, at least he had his answer. You loved someone already, and that someone wasn’t him. Was it Sokka? Maybe it was someone you else that he hadn’t ever met. Whoever it was, they were lucky.

He sat back down next to the lake with a sigh. Why are feelings so hard? He was determined to avoid you as much as possible, heeding the advice he had given himself earlier. Maybe if he threw away his emotions they could sink away and he wouldn’t have to deal with them. 

But he knew that was pointless. Even if he avoided you he couldn’t avoid the feelings he had. It was better than nothing, however, and he decided to stick with the idea. 

That night at dinner he wasn’t as talkative as usual, instead eating his meal in near silence before heading to bed. You were worried. Turning to Sokka you asked,“Is something wrong?” You hoped maybe he would know if something had happened to affect Zuko’s mood.

When Sokka shrugged in response you thought back on the day’s events. As you did you remembered your conversation with Katara. You had been asking her if you should confess your feelings to Zuko. What if he had overheard? The thought terrified you. Maybe he was trying to be nice and distance himself from you so you’d forget about your feelings.

After dinner ended you helped Katara clean up, voicing your worries as you did. “What if he’s trying to let me down easy instead of embarrassing me by talking about it?”

“Look, he doesn’t seem like the type to do that. In case you haven’t noticed he’s not exactly the king of subtlety.” You had to agree. It wasn’t like him to be subtle with his feelings, so perhaps your theory wasn’t true at all. Still, you couldn’t help but wonder if you were right.

“The best thing you can do,” Katara stated, “is actually talk to him.” When you gave her a look of exasperation she laughed. “I mean it. What if this is all one big misunderstanding? You can talk to him and figure it out. What’s the worst that can happen?”

You didn’t have the time to tell her all of the numerous worst case scenarios that came to mind. Instead, you simply nodded. “I’ll think about it.” To be honest, she wasn’t exactly wrong. Maybe talking to Zuko would clear some things up. Or maybe it would make everything worse. 

Deciding to think on it a bit more, you made your way over to the nearby lake. Instead of the peaceful space you hoped to find, you came across the one person you didn’t want to see. Maybe he was the one person you  _ did _ want to see. That’s what you were trying to figure out, but clearly that wasn’t going to happen. 

Hearing you draw closer, Zuko turned to face you. Well now there was no chance at leaving without him noticing. You sat next to him, trying to think of something to say to fill the awkward silence. Instead, you said the first thing that came to mind, “Did something happen?”

He tried to look confused, “What? What do you mean?”

“Don’t pretend, Zuko. You’ve been acting off ever since dinner and no one knows why. Did you hear what I was talking to Katara about earlier?”

He nodded sheepishly. “I did, I’m sorry. I won’t tell anyone, don’t worry.”

You felt your heart sink. You had been right after all. “Thank you. I wouldn’t want to be awkward.” You took a deep breath, trying not to cry. This was humiliating.

“If you don’t mind me asking, who is it?” He felt bad for even presuming to ask, but he needed to know. For some reason he wanted to know who you had chosen over him.

Instead, he was shocked at your response. “What are you talking about?”

He looked at you, his brow furrowed in confusion. “I heard Katara tell you that you should ‘tell him you love him’. Who is it?” 

You couldn’t stop yourself from laughing. “So you didn’t hear the whole conversation. But then, why did you avoid everyone?”

Now Zuko was really confused. “What do you mean I didn’t hear the whole conversation? You’re not in love with someone else?” The words had left his mouth before he could process what he was saying. 

As you realized what he said, your heart raced in your chest. “Someone else? No, Zuko,” you glanced down, your pulse pounding, “I’m in love with  _ you _ .”

His eyes met yours, and he smiled. “I’m in love with you too. I guess we should have talked about this before assuming things.”   


“I guess so,’ you giggled. “But I think it worked out well.” 

He leaned in, his lips brushing yours. “I think it did too.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this is on the shorter side, my laptop keyboard is having issues, hopefully I'll get a new one soon! Merry Christmas Eve if you celebrate it! As always, kudos and comments are appreciated! Love you all! <3


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